Overview
Belcoo and Blacklion are really one place split by a river and an international border. The narrow channel that drains Upper into Lower Lough MacNean is the line between Northern Ireland and the Republic, with Belcoo on the Fermanagh bank and Blacklion in County Cavan on the other. Since the border opened and went unpatrolled in 1998, the two function as a single community, and you can cross the bridge without noticing you’ve changed jurisdiction, currency aside.
The Irish Béal Cú means ‘mouth of the narrows’, after that little river. You’ll see the older folk translation ‘mouth of the hound’ tied to a Breifne legend, but the narrows is the real source of the name. It’s a small village, 439 people at the 2021 census, and the reason to come is what’s around it: the limestone country of the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark, above ground and below.
If you’ve half a day, spend it on the Cuilcagh Boardwalk. Everything else here is a half-hour stop.
The Cuilcagh Boardwalk
The Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail, known to everyone as the Stairway to Heaven, is what put Belcoo on the map. A timber boardwalk runs about four miles across protected blanket bog before a steep final stairway climbs to a viewing platform near the top of Cuilcagh Mountain, on the Fermanagh–Cavan border. Reckon an hour each way, and a round trip of roughly 11 km; this is a proper half-day walk, not a stroll.
Two honest warnings. The car park is £5, cash only, paid to a steward on the day – there’s no card machine, so bring coins or notes. And the bog is a protected habitat: you must stay on the boardwalk, which means you can’t push on to the actual summit of Cuilcagh from here. No dogs, either. The boardwalk surface is firm enough for wheelchairs in dry weather but can turn uneven after rain, and the plateau is exposed, so check the forecast before you set out.
Cottage Lawn
In the centre of the village, Cottage Lawn is a green space on the shore of Lower Lough MacNean with mature trees and views across the water to the Hanging Rock and Cuilcagh. It has free parking, toilets, a picnic area and an outdoor gym, and a flat, wheelchair-friendly walking loop of about 0.8 km. Since 1947 the community has run an annual Sports Day here every 15 August.
The name comes from ‘The Cottage’, the first stone house in Belcoo, built by Hamilton James, who in 1848 was among those who brought the railway and station to the village and effectively made it a town. The cottage later housed the railway workers.
St Patrick’s Holy Well
Just outside the village at Holywell is St Patrick’s Holy Well, locally called St Patrick’s Tub (from tobar, a well). It’s a working pilgrimage site: people perform the penitential stations through the old Lughnasa period, from the last weekend of July to 15 August. The well has long been associated with healing, including cures for cattle ailments.
Wildlife
Lough MacNean is clean enough to hold a good otter population, and it’s an important spot for migratory birds: whooper swans, Greenland white-fronted geese and golden plover all turn up. Early morning along the shore is your best chance of an otter. Cottage Lawn itself is good for bats at dusk, with common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle and Daubenton’s all recorded.
For activity on the water and underground, Corralea Activity Centre on the Lattone Road hires canoes, paddleboards and e-bikes and runs guided caving, climbing and archery.
Nearby
The Marble Arch Caves are a short drive away near Florencecourt, with show-cave tours along underground rivers, and the National Trust’s Florence Court house and demesne is close by. Across the border at Blacklion, Cavan Burren Park has megalithic tombs and glacial limestone scenery within the same geopark.
Getting there
- By road – Take the A4 from Enniskillen (10 miles / 16 km east) or the N16 from Manorhamilton and Sligo. From Belfast, take the Goldline 261 to Enniskillen and change.
- By bus – Bus Éireann route 458 runs roughly hourly through Belcoo between Enniskillen and Sligo via Glenfarne and Manorhamilton; Ulsterbus 64 runs twice daily between Enniskillen and Belcoo.
- By train – There’s no station at Belcoo; the nearest is Sligo.
- Parking – Cottage Lawn parking is free. The Cuilcagh Boardwalk car park is £5, cash only – the single most useful thing to know before you arrive.